Part 3: Climate

Part 3: Vocabulary

Alberta Clipper:

  • Fast-moving winter storm that comes from Canada

Arctic:

  • North Pole Region

Atmosphere:

  • Air that surrounds the earth

Autumnal Equinox:

  • September 22 or 23
  • First day of fall

Blizzard:

  • Severe winter storm with the following factors:
    • Wind blowing more than 35 miles per hour
    • Visibility less than one-fourth mile

Chinook:

  • Warm, dry wind blowing in from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains

Climate:

  • Average weather that a location has over a long period of time

Condense:

  • Become liquid

Continental Climate:

  • Climate with warm summers and cold winters
  • Found on land located far from an ocean

Cumulonimbus:

  • Very high, puffy, storm clouds
  • Thunderheads

Dew:

  • Moisture that condenses from the air and gathers in small drops on cool surfaces

Drizzle:

  • Very small drops of rain

Fog:

  • A cloud on the ground

Freezing:

  • 32 degrees (Fahrenheit)

Frost:

  • Moisture that condenses when the temperature is below freezing

Hail:

  • Small, round pieces of ice that fall from clouds

Humidity:

  • The amount of moisture in the air

Jet stream:

  • A fast-moving current of air that affects weather and climate

Meteorologist:

  • A scientist who studies the weather

Moisture:

  • Water

Precipitation:

  • Any kind of moisture that falls from the atmosphere

Prevailing Winds:

  • Most common

Rain:

  • Liquid water that falls from the atmosphere

Sleet:

  • Rain that freezes into pellets before it reaches the ground

Snow:

  • Water that is frozen into crystals and falls to Earth in soft, white flakes

Solar:

  • Sun

Subzero:

  • Below zero

Summer Solstice:

  • June 21 or 22
  • First day of summer
  • Longest day of the year

Tornado:

  • Storm made up of very high-speed, rotating winds

Tropics:

  • At or near the equator
  • Hot weather all year

Vernal Equinox:

  • March 20 or 21
  • First day of spring

Visibility:

  • Distance one can see

Weather:

  • Day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere

Wind:

  • Air in motion

Wind Chill Index:

  • Chart that uses temperature and wind speed to measure how cold the air feels and how long it takes skin to freeze

Winter Solstice:

  • December 21 or 22
  • First day of winter
  • Shortest day of the year